A guide to paint for care homes
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When it comes to the care sector, facility managers and maintenance teams need more from their building materials – including paint. Read on, as we explore how you can choose a paint that will deliver on all areas, from durability to aesthetics.
Extend maintenance schedules
With maintenance teams often stretched for time, any way in which maintenance schedules can be extended will be invaluable, helping to free up time for other jobs. Minimising disruption to staff and residents is another priority for care home managers, ensuring that daily operations and the well-being of potentially vulnerable and elderly residents are not detrimentally affected.
Selecting paint products that offer long-lasting performance and durability is key, reducing the amount of time and resources spent on upkeep – whether that is simply touching up scuffs and stains or repainting entire sections. Opt for durable emulsions that can stand the test of time, even in busy high traffic areas like corridors, dining areas and communal lounges.
Our Tough Matt emulsion is even stain resistant and scrubbable, achieving Class 1 under ISO 11998, making it ideal for high traffic areas. It can be easily cleaned with warm, soapy water, all without visually damaging the paint finish.
Colour
When it comes to interior design, residents and their families need to be made to feel at home in a comfortable and welcoming environment. A further factor for consideration is that some residents may have complex and varied needs, due to a range of possible age-related conditions, meaning colour must be used carefully and correctly.
For example, it’s important to consider the tonal contrast of the walls to other elements of the interior, whether that be floors to walls or doors to walls. A greater contrast should be achieved between these critical services, allowing those with dementia or visual impairments to see the area three-dimensionally and navigate through the space more easily. Colour can also be used to aid with wayfinding, guiding people safely through a building.
That said, it’s not just enough to choose a colour scheme – you also need to able to achieve the perfect match. With 2,000 pre-selected colours, a database of 2.2 million shades and best-in-class tinting machinery, we pride ourselves on our colour-matching capabilities. It’s also handy to know that all bespoke shades are automatically saved on the TradePoint database, meaning the same colours can be easily adopted across multiple care homes for a uniformed group approach.
Indoor air quality
Indoor air quality is an integral part of providing a clean and healthy environment for staff and residents, with Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) one factor that can threaten this. Inpaint, VOCs serve the purpose of aiding the application and drying process, ensuring the paint functions as intended. That said, you can still take action to limit the presence of these compounds, by opting for paint products that have lower VOCs – like many water-based products.
Look out for the globe classification label on the paint can to help you identify the level of VOCs. These classifications can range from ‘Very High’ (more than 50% VOC content) to ‘Minimal’ or ‘Trace’ (0% - 0.29%), with ‘High’, ‘Medium’ and ‘Low’ in between. Valspar Trade Tough Matt has been awarded the Indoor Air Comfort Gold certification, in recognition of its trace VOC levels.
In need of high-quality paint fast?
With our Direct2Site service, you can have our range of high-quality trade essentials delivered right where you need them, with next day delivery available too. Reach out to your local Trade Sales Specialist (TSS) for more information and to place your order.